Posts Filed Under ‘Gadgets’
I’m Getting an iPad 2
March 2nd, 2011, 14 comments
Ever since I sold my Kindle, I've been set on buying a tablet computer to read books, long web articles, and watch video. I waited to hear what the newest offerings would be from Apple and Google to make a decision. The Motorola Xoom with Honeycomb is tempting, but now that I've seen the iPad 2, I'm sold. Three reasons: 1. Generally I think it's prudent to wait for 2nd gen products. The iPad has been on the market for a full year now, so iPad-ready apps like Flipboard have had time to become available and mature. 2. I want to get back to using iOS seriously so I can make informed comparisons between it and Android. 3. The iPad is the superior tablet on the market right now in terms of form factor (it's thinner and lighter, though the screen is smaller), battery life, and price. Having an iPad will also kickstart my Todo.txt Touch app development for iOS—I'm only motivated to build things I actually use. Update: Also, have you seen the smart cover? That thing looks awesome.
Nerd Holiday Gift Guide, the Lightning Edition
December 10th, 2010, 2 comments
A few people have asked what I want/what they should give to nerds they love for the holidays, so here are a few ideas off the top: a DonorsChoose.org gift card (your recipient will get handwritten thank-you letters from the students it benefits, too); a Fitbit ($99, been loving the charts and insights from mine); 23andme DNA analysis ($400 off holiday discount right now); an Angry Bird (throw in a slingshot for extra fun); The Complete Android Guide (disclosure: Kevin's my pal but it's also a really good book); anything cool on Kickstarter or Etsy (like the LunaTik iPod nano watch kit or this awesome MacBook decal); a pro subscription to a great webapp, like LastPass, Netflix, Flickr, Pandora One, TripIt Pro, or Dropbox. Also, the item that will be on every single tech gift guide and wishlist: the Kinect, which makes me forget I'm sweating and flailing at all, and sore in places I didn't know I had musculature. What are you wanting/buying/recommending for the holidays? Do tell in the comments. Note: nobody paid me to mention anything listed here. It's all stuff I either own and love or want myself.
September 16th, 2010, 3 comments
My fellow Lifehacker Kevin Purdy has just published The Complete Android Guide, a soup-to-nuts how-to book on making the most of that Android-powered computer in your pocket. The book is available to browse freely online, as a $9 PDF or ePub file, and in print for $20. (This week only, if you follow @completeandroid on Twitter and send them a direct message, you'll get a 20% discount code.)
Congratulations to Kevin for publishing his first book, and to our publisher 3ones for continuing this iterative, collaborative tech book publishing model that we started with The Complete Guide to Google Wave.
I look forward to watching this book evolve as Android does, and also, asking Kevin all my hardest Android questions.
The Complete Android Guide
June 8th, 2010, 29 comments
Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 yesterday in his WWDC keynote, and it's a gorgeous device with software upgrades that include multitasking, a video chat app called FaceTime, and more. I'm still a happy Android user, but I have to hand it to Apple. They continue to school the industry on aesthetics and marketing. Case in point: the FaceTime demo video.
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TWiG: The Un-iPad Episode
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Hopefully better late than never: in this week's episode of TWiG, Jeff reboxes his iPad to return to the store, we talk Twitter developer relations, and my tip of the week was a web front end to the Android Market, at thanks to doubleTwist. ∞ April 16th, 2010, 1 comment
April 6th, 2010, 8 comments
A few months back I bought Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog--a great book about beating procrastination that I cited in a recent Fast Company video--on my Kindle. Today I got an interesting email from Amazon. To quote:
We're writing about your recent Kindle purchase of Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. The version you received contained some errors that have been corrected.
An updated version of Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time is now available. It’s important to note that when we send you the updated version, you will lose any highlights, your last page read, and bookmarks made in your current version and the locations of any notes may not match the updated copy of the book.
The whole part about my losing highlights and bookmarks stinks. But Amazon reaching down into my Kindle and correcting errors in a book I bought months ago? Wacky!
Update, 4/12/2010: I posted this in a rush last week and didn't include the entire text of the email, or fully-baked thoughts about it. To clarify: the updates to the book are indeed optional and opt-in. The email ends thusly:
If you wish to receive the updated version, please let us know via e-mail at amazonkindle-feedback@amazon.com.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused, and would like to thank you for your business with Amazon.
My apologies for making it sound like this update was not opt-in. While I wish Amazon would provide a diff between the revisions so I can see exactly what I'm getting when I ask for the update, they won't touch my book unless I ask them.
I’m Not Buying an iPad This Weekend
April 2nd, 2010, 7 comments
Even though I'm desperately curious how one looks and feels and works, I'm not buying an iPad--just yet, anyway. I'll head down to the Apple store and fondle one on Saturday, just before TWiG, so that I can talk about it on-air. But I'm already suffering from gadget overload, with a netbook and an iPod touch and the Nexus One and a Kindle, so bringing another gadget into the house just doesn't makes sense. I will buy a tablet in the next year or so--after I eBay my Kindle and my iPod touch and get to see some of the Android models in person, too. If you're on the fence about whether or not to succumb to the iPad, read this: Why You Shouldn't Buy an iPad (Yet).
Alex Payne on the iPad
January 28th, 2010, 12 comments
"The iPad leaves me with the feeling that Apple’s interests and values going forward are deeply divergent from my own. The future of personal computing that the iPad shows us is both seductive and dystopian. It’s not a future I want to bring into my home." al3x on the iPad. Read it.
iPad First Impressions
January 27th, 2010, 34 comments
Based solely on live blogs and a choppy audio feed: Terrible name, gorgeous device, great price point. I may be an Apple critic, but I'm not made of stone--this thing is beautiful. Instantly my Kindle seems like a joke. Kottke may be right: The Kindle app plus Instapaper installed on the iPad may very well be a much better reading and browsing experience than the Kindle itself, plus you get everything else it does. Here's Apple's official iPad page. And you?
January 5th, 2010, 6 comments
BillShrink hits it out of the park with a handy infographic which compares the cost and features of the current generation of smartphones: the Nexus One, the Palm Pre, the Motorola Droid, and the iPhone 3GS.
Looking at this you realize 1.) there's no clear winner in the bunch feature-wise and 2.) we all spend a ridiculous amount of money on mobile phones and service. My only nitpick with this chart is that the T-Mobile/Nexus One "Average Usage" plan should be listed at $79.99 a month, not $89.99 (unless they're counting taxes and fees). Update: BillShrink has updated this graphic to correct prices. Head inside and click to enlarge the big picture to check it out.
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Nexus One Flash Impressions
January 5th, 2010, 7 comments
Google announced the Nexus One phone today, which is on sale from Google here. My current contract is up, I'm sick of living with Edge, and I don't want to depend on good enough data coverage for Skype, so I bought one with the T-Mobile plan. As a former iPhone user and soon-to-be-former G1 user, I'm excited about getting a thin and light phone with replaceable battery and a true headphone jack. I'm a huge fan of the trackball in general, so I'm loving that the Nexus One's trackball doubles as a notification system; however, I do fear I'll miss the G1's awesome flip-out keyboard more than "never." I mostly use my smartphone to email/text/Twitter, so I'm looking forward to speaking email with voice input, multiple Gmail account and Undo support. More Nexus One goodness as I discover it... now, to wait for FedEx.
The Decade You Fell in Love with Your DVR
December 29th, 2009, 2 comments
Over on PVRblog today, I got to briefly explain how TiVo changed television for me, alongside some of my favorite web folks. Caterina has my favorite quote: "It's not hard to find someone to sleep with, it's hard to find someone you'd WANT to sleep with. It's not hard to find something to watch, it's hard to find something GOOD to watch." Yup, the 2000s were the decade of DVR.
Jeff Bezos on Reading in the Bathtub
December 6th, 2009, 4 comments
"I put my Kindle in a one-gallon Ziploc bag, and it works beautifully. It’s much better than a physical book, because obviously if you put your physical book in a Ziploc bag you can’t turn the pages. But with Kindle, you can just push the buttons." [NY Times via SvN]
September 15th, 2009, 10 comments
I'm not dead. I've just moved into a new place where there is no internet connection yet, which is the equivalent of dead when you work and live online. Up until now I've resisted "rooting" my Android phone because I didn't want to go down the iPhone jailbreak road. (A major reason I have Android is so I don't have to jailbreak my device to get it to do something interesting!) But desperate times call for desperate measures. Living somewhere with no computer internet connection is a really good reason to root your Android phone. With a rooted phone, you can tether your Android device to your computer and get some internet love wherever you are. (There are quite a few other good reasons to root Android, too, not the least of which is speed boosts and early Donut access.)
If you're paying attention and reading the instructions, the rooting process isn't that difficult. I made the mistake of trying this out without my phone's USB cable (which was still packed away in some box) and in a loud sports bar during the first Chargers game of the season, with one eye on my screen and the other on my beer. Things didn't go so well. This morning I was able to finish up the process and get tethering working just fine. Here's what (and what NOT) to do when you root your Android phone.
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May 29th, 2009, 7 comments
As I was finishing up work last night, I accidentally knocked a half-full glass of Diet Coke over and got some in my keyboard. Argh! I shook it out and went on my way, but then this morning 7's and 8's were mysteriously inserting themselves into words, and the spacebar was only working intermittently.
A spill doesn't necessarily mean keyboard death, but resuscitation can take some elbow grease. Unplug the keyboard (or for wireless models, remove the batteries), break out the screwdriver and take that baby apart. It can take some time; my Logitech has at least two dozen screws holding it together. Lay out the pieces one by one and wipe them down with a slightly-damp cloth to get off any sticky residue. Use a dry paper towel to mop up drops. If you've got compressed air handy, this is a great time to blow out any dust, too.
When all the parts are dry as a bone, carefully reassemble them. All's well for me now; I'm typing this very post on the keyboard. Here are some photos of my keyboard's innards from this morning's clean-up.
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